for the last time i hope, the problem with censoring yahtzee in the context of the GDC is about the fact that the GDC invited him to make a video/presentation. its not about where the video will be shown its not about who it is being shown too its about the fact that THEY invited HIM to make one of HIS videos.

if they felt that his work was going to be a problem for ANY reason then they shouldnt have invited him, or at WORSE they should have informed him when they issued the invitation that his work needed to be cuss free due to the venue. NOT, repeat NOT edited his work after he compleated it.

all the talk of what the venue was and who may or may not have been there to see this is missing the point totaly. the point is you dont higher a stripper to entertain your croud then object when they take their cloths off and rush the stage with your coat and cover up her naughty bits during the show.

Jesus this isnt a hard idea to get is it? what they should have done at the GDC instead of censoring his work was ask him to not produce a work that needed censoring to begin with. im 100% certian that yahtzee could produce a video with no cussing and have it be just as funny as his 'normal' stuff is. instead they asked him to make a video then pushed THEIR 2 cents in and censored it. for what reason?

all the talk about how its OK because they had to censor it due to the venue is not getting my point. the problem isnt the venue or the need to keep a TV program 'clean' the PROBLEM is that they chose yahtzee KNOWING his work isnt fit for an average TV program. and rather than ask him to clean it up they just stomped on it afterwords changing HIS message to THEIR message by doing so. that video isnt about yahtzees opinions anymore its about giant ass BEEPS every 10 words that someone else decided too add in.

think about this. Yahtzee had a chance to reach a larger group of people with that GDC than hes been exposed to yet. he got a chance to jump into the 'lime light' with that clip and get his name known other places than here. when they censored his videos it changes how people see him that arent familiar with his work like we are. it makes him at best look like just another foul mouth gamer idiot (by drawing attention with screaming censorship to the cussing that otherwise would have gone unnoticed for most people) and at worse just a flash in the pan moron who the GDC got too fill a couple dull minutes in their awards program.it makes him look bad, it makes him look like hes so stupid that he didnt relize he couldnt cuss at that venue and that the GDC had to take steps to get him under control.

Wyatt:for the last time i hope, the problem with censoring yahtzee in the context of the GDC is about the fact that the GDC invited him to make a video/presentation. its not about where the video will be shown its not about who it is being shown too its about the fact that THEY invited HIM to make one of HIS videos.

if they felt that his work was going to be a problem for ANY reason then they shouldnt have invited him, or at WORSE they should have informed him when they issued the invitation that his work needed to be cuss free due to the venue. NOT, repeat NOT edited his work after he compleated it.

all the talk of what the venue was and who may or may not have been there to see this is missing the point totaly. the point is you dont higher a stripper to entertain your croud then object when they take their cloths off and rush the stage with your coat and cover up her naughty bits during the show.

Jesus this isnt a hard idea to get is it? what they should have done at the GDC instead of censoring his work was ask him to not produce a work that needed censoring to begin with. im 100% certian that yahtzee could produce a video with no cussing and have it be just as funny as his 'normal' stuff is. instead they asked him to make a video then pushed THEIR 2 cents in and censored it. for what reason?

all the talk about how its OK because they had to censor it due to the venue is not getting my point. the problem isnt the venue or the need to keep a TV program 'clean' the PROBLEM is that they chose yahtzee KNOWING his work isnt fit for an average TV program. and rather than ask him to clean it up they just stomped on it afterwords changing HIS message to THEIR message by doing so. that video isnt about yahtzees opinions anymore its about giant ass BEEPS every 10 words that someone else decided too add in.

think about this. Yahtzee had a chance to reach a larger group of people with that GDC than hes been exposed to yet. he got a chance to jump into the 'lime light' with that clip and get his name known other places than here. when they censored his videos it changes how people see him that arent familiar with his work like we are. it makes him at best look like just another foul mouth gamer idiot (by drawing attention with screaming censorship to the cussing that otherwise would have gone unnoticed for most people) and at worse just a flash in the pan moron who the GDC got too fill a couple dull minutes in their awards program.it makes him look bad, it makes him look like hes so stupid that he didnt relize he couldnt cuss at that venue and that the GDC had to take steps to get him under control.

But you're basing your entire argument on conclusions you've obviously jumped to. Firstly for all we know Yathzee was well aware of the content he was and wasn't allowed to publish without censorship, secondly what kind of fool would refuse to host a mock awards presentation (and a career +1) just because his swear words would get bleeped? You're making a massive fuss over nothing, a couple of foul words were bleeped so the video could be published at the GDC, the audience probably don't care, Yahtzee probably doesn't care, it isn't some massive blow to freedoms or values, its just people complaining because you want to make it look like the GDC have just slapped him in the face. Yahtzee was given this oppertunity to entertain, he took it. The GDC hired him to give a funny ranting award mock up, and thats EXACTLY what he did.

And how the hell can you compare this to a stripper? Unlike a stripper who's career is entirely dependant on her removing her clothes; Yahtzee doesn't get his reputation only because he swears, otherwise we might as well have PcGamer Magazine written by Stella drinking chavs. He gets his reputation because he knows how to write funny constructive rants which underneath the humour actually raise some pretty good points, to say he's been restricted in any way is just bloody ridiculous... the content is still there, we can easily understand what words he's using, and the bleeping was probably only added so the video could be shown in the first place. I mean heres a question, had the video had no swearing, simply because GDC rules hypothetically forbade it (say because it has an audience which includes children) - would you still be complaining then?

In your opinion. I wish everyone on both sides of the issue would remember that. YOU weren't distracted by it, but others are, and if The Escapist wants to hold viewers and not drive them away, it's in their best interest to listen to both complaints and praise. I see nothing wrong with people saying they didn't like the bleeping, for whatever reason.

I understand that you're frustrated with people who use the phrase "freedom of speech" in situations like these, and I am too, but I also understand people use the phrase in regards to any censorship, governmental or not. There's nothing you can do about it.

Wyatt:for the last time i hope, the problem with censoring yahtzee in the context of the GDC is about the fact that the GDC invited him to make a video/presentation. its not about where the video will be shown its not about who it is being shown too its about the fact that THEY invited HIM to make one of HIS videos.

I see your point, but I have one of my own. You've contributed several treatises to this thread about the censorship issue, but have you heard the Y-man say as much as a peep about it? Sure, maybe he doesn't want to bite the hand that feeds him, but he seems like the sort of fellow that would let it be heard if he has complaints about a topic...and lord knows, he has a few complaints. You (and a number of other posters) seem to have taken this rather hard, but if the guy who was "censored" (if he didn't choose to have the bleeps in the first place) isn't getting bent out of shape, why should everyone else? P.S.: I'm not trying to hate on you specifically, Wyatt. I've read your other posts and I cracked up when you nailed the "kiddy diddler." No hard feelings?

"Summary: The Escapist, make up your mind. If you want to be edgy, the stop with the censorship. If you want to be kid-friendly, don't have a review section featuring a foul-mouthed Aussie. Simple as that. Straddling the fence makes nobody happy."

Well said, Czech.

Alas, The Escapist has already made their choice. Not so much "kid friendly" - not too many kids at GDC, after all - as "ever more mass-market friendly."

Look forward to more fence-straddling, in other words. More intrusive ad content, too.

The best part of this whole thing is that the spoken word "shit" is censored but the written appearance of it at 03:56 is left intact.

Indigo_Dingo:I personally disagree with Yahtzee's assumptions on Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Oh sure, Guitar Hero III : Legends of Rock is a kick in the soft dangly bits for all concerned, but before that, the games (1, 2 and 80's) supposedley drummed up more business for Guitar teaches and sales of real Gibsons, Yamaha's and all other makers of the instant coolness machine than they'd been seeing in years, as well as increasing the number of Headbangers (My cousin and one of my friends among them). And as for Rock Band, half of the game (Vocals and Drums) require actual talent in order to not suck completely at them, and the guitar and base are getting closer to the real deal with the addition of 5 new buttons.

Guitar and BASS are getting closer to the real deal? I have been playing guitar for 15 years or so and I'm pretty sure a smaller plastic version of a guitar with buttons for frets, NO MATTER HOW MANY BUTTONS will never be "closer to the real deal." Until the day I can plug in my real guitar to my PS9 or Xbox1080xxx, it will never be like the real deal.

The Rock Band guitar is a piece of trash and the solo buttons were a complete waste of someone's brain power and the companies development time.

Oh and the review was good, I didn't think it was his best by at all. He was funny and definitely spoke - I think - at times faster then usual. It's really amazing how many people are getting upset about the censorship... but are we really surprised?... Na..

Heh, I need to apologise to loads of people. I keep clicking Report instead of Quote, I've done it like 6 times now (honestly, I'm used to clicking Quote on the left)

At the end of the day, Yahtzee is a professional writer, not a Pop-star. If he's given an offer to make a presentation which would have to be censored so as not to break GDC rules and regulations - then thats entirely up to him to choose. They got him to pop a long and give a ranting raving presentation, and he did just that - to call it Kid Friendly is like criticizing Space Odessy for not having hard-core nudity. I would much rather have a Yahtzee presentation at GDC with bleeping than no Yahtzee presentation at GDC at all.

I must say, I'm disappointed that Yahtzee willfully missed his opportunity to smack the game developers around a little bit. Here is a man clearly upset with the state of the industry (as evidenced by every review of his ever except for Portal) who had an opportunity to tell game developers to their faces to fix any of the problems he frequently rants about in his reviews. There was no mention of the constant milking of sequels, the emphasis on multiplayer content, writing that would be inexcusable in a high school paper, and the saturation of the market by first person shooters (or action games in general).

This didn't even need to be done in a mean-spirited way like his normal reviews (see Stephen Colbert at the White House) but considering Yahtzee has never shied away from his opinions as a "games are art fagmasexual" it was bizarre to see him licking the balls of Duke Nukem and reiterating his Guitar Hero review. The only part that seemed even vaguely scathing was his tearing up of Bioshock's protagonist and even that ended with him basically excusing most games for not having real characters. It just seemed to go against everything he's been saying in his reviews; I mean, the PS3 is a decent competitor because of Folklore? He seemed to take a more casual, idealistic view of the industry when his utter contempt for it is the only thing that separates him from every other game reviewer ever in life.

m_jim: You (and a number of other posters) seem to have taken this rather hard, but if the guy who was "censored" (if he didn't choose to have the bleeps in the first place) isn't getting bent out of shape, why should everyone else? P.S.: I'm not trying to hate on you specifically, Wyatt. I've read your other posts and I cracked up when you nailed the "kiddy diddler." No hard feelings?

none taken, honist differences of opinion are what drives the world. the more so when they are presented with obvious though put behind them.

let me say though that the fact that yahtzee hasent commented on this topic changes nothing, even if yahtzee himself came here and annouced that he was 100% ok with the censorship it still wouldnt change the basic issues i (and others) have with it.

censorship is bad, ill admit there MAY be times on the corse of life and death situations that censorship might be needed, but even in that event it should be approached with a wary tread and each instiance should be weighed with the gravest care. the comment that was made that censorship in this context isnt "isn't some massive blow to freedoms or values" is the EXACT attitude that allows the removial of those freedoms in the first place.

at NO time should a person right to freedom of expression be shrugged off as 'no big deal'. perhaps the charges that im making more out of this than i should be do have a foundation of truth, granted this isnt a life or death situation, but on the other hand if we establish the line of what is and what isnt acceptable in reguards to censorship too lightly, if we shrug of even small instiances of it as 'no big deal' that sets a pressident for 'bigger' issues being decided under the same framework.

ohh yeah and there is also the point that if good men say nothing then evil wins by default. if you accept censorship with out a valid life or death reason then you are just letting the same bastards that want too ban video games totaly win by default. its a very very small step from censoring a clip like yahtzees 'for the children' and baning video games with guns/sex/drugs/racism/what-have-you .......... 'for the children'. and if video game players ACT like children and say its ok of 'mamma and pappa at the GDC censor what we are allowed to hear' then the next step is a ban on your GAMES not just people that talk about them.

Wyatt:im just speaking up because page after page of posts reflected an opinion i agreed with and then some moron got up on their bandwaggon and started the 'cant we all just get along' happy horseshit and calling people idiots because they had the nerve to make a post saying they hated the censorship.

m_jim: You (and a number of other posters) seem to have taken this rather hard, but if the guy who was "censored" (if he didn't choose to have the bleeps in the first place) isn't getting bent out of shape, why should everyone else? P.S.: I'm not trying to hate on you specifically, Wyatt. I've read your other posts and I cracked up when you nailed the "kiddy diddler." No hard feelings?

none taken, honist differences of opinion are what drives the world. the more so when they are presented with obvious though put behind them.

let me say though that the fact that yahtzee hasent commented on this topic changes nothing, even if yahtzee himself came here and annouced that he was 100% ok with the censorship it still wouldnt change the basic issues i (and others) have with it.

censorship is bad, ill admit there MAY be times on the corse of life and death situations that censorship might be needed, but even in that event it should be approached with a wary tread and each instiance should be weighed with the gravest care. the comment that was made that censorship in this context isnt "isn't some massive blow to freedoms or values" is the EXACT attitude that allows the removial of those freedoms in the first place.

at NO time should a person right to freedom of expression be shrugged off as 'no big deal'. perhaps the charges that im making more out of this than i should be do have a foundation of truth, granted this isnt a life or death situation, but on the other hand if we establish the line of what is and what isnt acceptable in reguards to censorship too lightly, if we shrug of even small instiances of it as 'no big deal' that sets a pressident for 'bigger' issues being decided under the same framework.

ohh yeah and there is also the point that if good men say nothing then evil wins by default. if you accept censorship with out a valid life or death reason then you are just letting the same bastards that want too ban video games totaly win by default. its a very very small step from censoring a clip like yahtzees 'for the children' and baning video games with guns/sex/drugs/racism/what-have-you .......... 'for the children'. and if video game players ACT like children and say its ok of 'mamma and pappa at the GDC censor what we are allowed to hear' then the next step is a ban on your GAMES not just people that talk about them.

I'm sorry, but you're completely talking out your arse. This is not in any way Censorship of Freedom of Speech, to suggest that idea is insulting to the principle itself, Philosopher's and Political idealists haven't spent the last 3000 years trying to create values such as Freedom of Speech, only to have it mocked as some sort of excuse to swear and curse freely infront of any audience the user deems fit. Freedom of speech revolves around opinions and ideas, not curse words. Professionalism needs to be maintained, rules and regulations have to exist, alright so it means we cant run around shouting "fuck shit and wank" in an office block, but it all boils down to appropiate use.

My concerns of freedom of speech lay within Government limitations upon criticism on religion/government and organisation. Recently here in the UK a law against 'religios hate speech' was implemented... which is ridiculous, it blocks public ridicule of religion in most forms - including satirical. That I have a major problem with. People should have every right to state an opinion; but that doesn't mean people should be freely allowed to offend - a world without comments like "ragheads are shit" is a better place to be.

But that is totally irrelevent. Yahtzee hasn't been told he cant swear, he's been told he can't swear in a presentation for a specific audience - the GDC has guidelines, if it wants to exist it has to stick to them. There is a massive massive MASSIVE difference between censorship of curse words for conferences than there is in political censorship. Its not acceptable for explicit or violent content to be shown on daytime TV - so whats the major difference with a professional conference?

Yahtzee has had no rights taken away from him, no laws have been forced, he's had to bleep swear words at a conference run by a company who will probably be paying HIM for the presentation - its up to them to choose if they want the content shown at GDC to have a 18/16/15/12 Age rating. Swearing can be offensive to many people, and people are warned in advanced if adult content will be shown - we have this for televsion, papers, video-games, DVD's - GDC is no different. If its bosses said they want that place to be acceptable for a 15+ audience, then every presentation at that conference has to adhere. I'd be very worried if the BBC suddenly changed its motto to "Fuckin Harcore!"

Wyatt:for the last time i hope, the problem with censoring yahtzee in the context of the GDC is about the fact that......and that the GDC had to take steps to get him under control.

i totally agree with you.....

Lan_Di:I must say, I'm disappointed that Yahtzee willfully missed his opportunity to smack the game developers around a little bit........He seemed to take a more casual, idealistic view of the industry when his utter contempt for it is the only thing that separates him from every other game reviewer ever in life.

sad, but true....(sry for shortening the quotes.... prevents overly long posts)

usually i don't surf around the internet much because imo it's a waste of time and i'm still pretending to have a life. yahtzee however changed that. visiting one side weekly can't quite be considered surfing, but for me it's most likely as good as it can get.....probably understandable that a censored review was quite a shock.... luckily however it seems that the last review was a one-off, luckily for my ears that is..... i don't know how much influence this one had on yhatzee's popularity, if it had any.... the only positive thing is, it proves once again that TV sucks.... ^^

i almost believed the censorship was intended by escapistmagazine to be implemented from now on.... that would've been truly devastating.... i'm definitely happy as hell that this wasn't the case..... but perhaps i'm not observant enough to have noticed it from the start.....

now a few words to his holiness yahtzee himself :) 95% agree05% discussiblesadly though we'll probably never get to have a little talk because you're too busy deleting the shiayit ppl send you... XDregards so far

Not the best video, but still pretty funny. I liked the DNF bit at least. Keep up the good work. Also big laughs at this thread.. You people really care about the beeping? Of course it was beeped out, it was made for GDC not this site. Its not going to be a normal thing. Christ..

DethFanatic:This is the first ZP review i have actually failed to laugh at...it just was not funny, it didnt cover any new ground, and was rather like one of those very annoying re-cap episodes you find in just about every single fucking science fiction series.

Agreed. I was expecting something absolutely Fandabbybabulous to make the entire world worship yahtzee. This wasn't it.

Also, What is with everyone making analogies and simile's in their comments? Only Yahtzee can do it well and it makes you sound stupid and wannabe.

Well the GDC I'm sure he didn't want to alienate new viewers with new stuff and inside jokes, and really the censorship is hardly noticeable as it was few and not done very well (in fact he may have done it himself). I kinda wonder if some of you watched it 2 or 3 times before you post here sometimes heh.

It was funny the first time I watched it, so it had some magic to it, just not enough to watch for an entire week.

If you want something to watch for weeks, youtube is good for that, reviews are supposed to be watch-once endevers anyway, Yahtzee just does it in a different way.

its ok for people to tell other people how they can express themselves, unless its the government doing it then we should revolt and shoot all the bastards. or words to that effect.

my main point here has been that yahtzee wasnt self censored, he wasnt told to create a work without cussing, he produced a work and the GDC saw fit to ruin it by censorship.

dont know what part of this you cant get. i KNOW there are rules that govern TV content, i KNOW that companys have a 'right' to controll content in their venues, i KNOW that not everyone is comfortable with cussing, i know ALL of this, and ALL of that misses the point.

the POINT is and what YOU should KNOW by now is that there was NO need for censorship when at all when a simple statment to yahtzee before he produced his work would have allowed him to creat that work without the need for censorship at all. INSTEAD they allowed him to produce his work then THEY censored it.

THEY changed HIS work instead of simply telling him that HE needed to produce something they could live with.

the choice was simple.

choice one: the GDC comes to yahtzee and says, we would like you to produce something for our show but due to the nature of the venue we need for you not to use cuss words.

choice two: the GDC comes to yahtzee and says, we would like you to produce something for our show since your pretty popular and funny and we just love your work. after its done they slap giant ass beeps every 10 words in the most moronic way possable so it makes not only them look retarded but yahtzee too.

wich choice would you support? ill give a very loose nod at choice one myself,though im not all that keen on censorship by pressure either meaning not direct censorship but rather censorship that is self imposed by the creater in order to get access to certian venues,(example here in the States) im not real happy that video games companys dont put nudity or sex in a game where its called for (or otherwise edit it out) because wal-mart wont sell an AO game.

choice two, only a fool would defend. and in this case NO ONE benifited, the censorship makes the GDC look like Idiots, it makes Yahtzee look like a foul mouth gamer moron, and the people it was ment to 'protect', "the children" and people whos ears will explode at the use of the work dick, were not protected because its very clear what he was saying.

so i ask you few that are still insisting on defending this censorship , why? when no one wins not even the 'innocent children' why defend it? by God i was told by someone that was AT the GDC when this clip was shown that he over heard a 5 year old boy ask his father what "jerk off" ment, clearly that kid and most likley his father will both be scard for life and will never be able to look one another in the eye again as long as they live so as you can see the censorship not only didnt do its intended job, all it DID do was draw attention to an expression that "innocent child" would most likley wouldnt even have noticed if he hadnt had that screaming BEEP to highlight it for him.

common over to the real worlds side and just call em censoring morons like the rest of us and let the parents of those 'innocent children' do what my dad did and tell em to 'shut the hell up before i backhand you, and go get me another beer while your at it'

That's right, spunk guzzlers, I'm back from GDC having shook my hand raw and have finally plowed through the big piles of email I specifically told you not to send me. Incidentally I deleted without reading all the ones that complained about the censor beeping in my GDC shorts. No, the reviews aren't going to be regularly bleeped now, shut up. They were put in there at the request of the GDC people and I deliberately made it clear what the word being bleeped out was. Personally I feel a censor bleep can have greater comedy value than a swear word on it's own so I was all for it.

How the hell did they make the videos 'unwatchable', as one viewer put it? Do you have some kind of chip in your brain that deactivates all your senses whenever you hear a high-frequency noise? Christ, you people are freaks.

That's right, spunk guzzlers, I'm back from GDC having shook my hand raw and have finally plowed through the big piles of email I specifically told you not to send me. Incidentally I deleted without reading all the ones that complained about the censor beeping in my GDC shorts. No, the reviews aren't going to be regularly bleeped now, shut up. They were put in there at the request of the GDC people and I deliberately made it clear what the word being bleeped out was. Personally I feel a censor bleep can have greater comedy value than a swear word on it's own so I was all for it.

How the hell did they make the videos 'unwatchable', as one viewer put it? Do you have some kind of chip in your brain that deactivates all your senses whenever you hear a high-frequency noise? Christ, you people are freaks.

Indigo_Dingo:I personally disagree with Yahtzee's assumptions on Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Oh sure, Guitar Hero III : Legends of Rock is a kick in the soft dangly bits for all concerned, but before that, the games (1, 2 and 80's) supposedley drummed up more business for Guitar teaches and sales of real Gibsons, Yamaha's and all other makers of the instant coolness machine than they'd been seeing in years, as well as increasing the number of Headbangers (My cousin and one of my friends among them). And as for Rock Band, half of the game (Vocals and Drums) require actual talent in order to not suck completely at them, and the guitar and base are getting closer to the real deal with the addition of 5 new buttons.

Guitar and BASS are getting closer to the real deal? I have been playing guitar for 15 years or so and I'm pretty sure a smaller plastic version of a guitar with buttons for frets, NO MATTER HOW MANY BUTTONS will never be "closer to the real deal." Until the day I can plug in my real guitar to my PS9 or Xbox1080xxx, it will never be like the real deal.

The Rock Band guitar is a piece of trash and the solo buttons were a complete waste of someone's brain power and the companies development time.

O.k., i've had no first-hand experience with the game, as it has not been released for PAL territories yet, so I've been relying on what I've read on the various tech reviews, and it gave the impression that they were getting closer to reality, even adding new strings. I can't really remember where, though.

Well, even so, my comments on increasing the publics desire to learn to play the real deal remains valid, as well as people requiring real talent for Drums and Vocals (or as little talent as drums requires. Joke)

its ok for people to tell other people how they can express themselves, unless its the government doing it then we should revolt and shoot all the bastards. or words to that effect.

my main point here has been that yahtzee wasnt self censored, he wasnt told to create a work without cussing, he produced a work and the GDC saw fit to ruin it by censorship.

dont know what part of this you cant get. i KNOW there are rules that govern TV content, i KNOW that companys have a 'right' to controll content in their venues, i KNOW that not everyone is comfortable with cussing, i know ALL of this, and ALL of that misses the point.

the POINT is and what YOU should KNOW by now is that there was NO need for censorship when at all when a simple statment to yahtzee before he produced his work would have allowed him to creat that work without the need for censorship at all. INSTEAD they allowed him to produce his work then THEY censored it.

THEY changed HIS work instead of simply telling him that HE needed to produce something they could live with.

the choice was simple.

choice one: the GDC comes to yahtzee and says, we would like you to produce something for our show but due to the nature of the venue we need for you not to use cuss words.

choice two: the GDC comes to yahtzee and says, we would like you to produce something for our show since your pretty popular and funny and we just love your work. after its done they slap giant ass beeps every 10 words in the most moronic way possable so it makes not only them look retarded but yahtzee too.

wich choice would you support? ill give a very loose nod at choice one myself,though im not all that keen on censorship by pressure either meaning not direct censorship but rather censorship that is self imposed by the creater in order to get access to certian venues,(example here in the States) im not real happy that video games companys dont put nudity or sex in a game where its called for (or otherwise edit it out) because wal-mart wont sell an AO game.

choice two, only a fool would defend. and in this case NO ONE benifited, the censorship makes the GDC look like Idiots, it makes Yahtzee look like a foul mouth gamer moron, and the people it was ment to 'protect', "the children" and people whos ears will explode at the use of the work dick, were not protected because its very clear what he was saying.

so i ask you few that are still insisting on defending this censorship , why? when no one wins not even the 'innocent children' why defend it? by God i was told by someone that was AT the GDC when this clip was shown that he over heard a 5 year old boy ask his father what "jerk off" ment, clearly that kid and most likley his father will both be scard for life and will never be able to look one another in the eye again as long as they live so as you can see the censorship not only didnt do its intended job, all it DID do was draw attention to an expression that "innocent child" would most likley wouldnt even have noticed if he hadnt had that screaming BEEP to highlight it for him.

common over to the real worlds side and just call em censoring morons like the rest of us and let the parents of those 'innocent children' do what my dad did and tell em to 'shut the hell up before i backhand you, and go get me another beer while your at it'

Quite frankly, I'm giving up. Mainly because theres no way I can make you realise that swearing needlessly infront of people who don't appreciate it shouldn't need to happen, that has nothing to do with Freedom of Speech - its just bloody rude. This also has nothing to do with children, age ratings are set so as people know if content will be offensive/acceptable or not - I'm pretty sure the Catholic Society wouldn't appreciate going to a conference if it had hard-core nudity, a sacrificial lamb, and an abundance of foul language. Thats an extreme example, but it remains in the same context.

Oh, and you forgot choice 3; "We want you to come give a presentation at GDC, you can't curse without some sort of censorship otherwise we can't get the video past rules and regulations - but I'm sure that doesn't stop you making the words more obvious 'wink'"

The problem here isn't that Freedom of Speech has been abused; as it hasn't - the problem here is that bureaucracy is inherently daft at times. But thats bureaucracy for you. I doubt anybody at that conference would have cared if Yahtzee swore or not, but unfortunately these rules exist. Be it to stop people complaining, to avoid controversy, or to make these conferences seem more professional than they actually are.

The thing is, these conferences aren't run by two or three people - I'd wager that the people who decide on who gets to go to the conference aren't the same people who set the rules and regulations, which is exactly why you can't just go around making exceptions. I personally would rather they changed day-time TV so it could show hard-core pornogrophy and every Stanley Kubrick, but hey, thats what the internet is for.

-edit- And it was you who missed the point entirely, not me. You jumped to the conclusion that Yahtzee wasn't told that he couldn't swear - and now we've found out that he did know and he liked the idea. The GDC did nothing wrong, Yahtzee did nothing wrong, his opinions and ideas weren't censored... he even liked the idea of a bleeping noise, so what the hell is there to complain about?